Missouri REALTORS®,
It was a busy and productive week! On Monday, March 1 the Senate Professional Registration Committee took testimony on SB 473. Sponsored by Sen. Justin Brown, this bill provides guidance for real estate professionals when describing themselves or their team. It prohibits the use of the words “realty,” “brokerage,” and “company,” or other terms that might lead a person to believe they are dealing with a company other than the licensed entity with whom the licensee is associated. The bill is one of two developed by the License Law PAG which was appointed by Missouri REALTORS® Past President Jeff Kester.
On Tuesday, March 2 the Senate Small Business and Industry Committee took testimony on SB 182. This bill allows an owner of commercial property to lock out a tenant who has failed to pay rent on time. We testified in support of the bill, and the committee voted to approve the bill for further action. That same committee also heard SB 435 which allows a real estate licensee to own an LLC and allows the broker to pay commissions into that LLC. Because I had already testified in support of SB 182, Jason Zamkus fielded questions on SB 435. The committee approved the bill Thursday morning.
Thursday afternoon, the Senate General Laws Committee heard testimony on SB 180 by Senator Tony Luetkemeyer. The bill requires that administrative rules sunset after five years and that any state agency adopting a rule must rescind a rule that is unnecessary, obsolete, or burdensome. This proposal, as written, would produce significant problems for real estate licensees who rely on rules promulgated by the Missouri Real Estate Commission for guidance in their real estate practice. After discussion with Senator Luetkemeyer, he agreed to amend his bill to exclude rules promulgated by entities under the Division of Professional Registration.
The Senate Committee on Insurance and Banking took up SB 105, offered by Senator Sandy Crawford. SB 105 makes changes to the provisions governing PACE “Property Assessed Clean Energy” loans. The act provides additional consumer protections and gives the Division of Finance limited regulatory authority over the program. PACE loans can be a useful tool for homeowners who need to replace HVAC or other systems, but there have been documented issues with the program. The problems became so acute that both the City of Springfield and Greene County quit allowing Residential PACE.
Lastly, in a meeting of the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. John Wiemann offered an amendment to Rep. Rudy Viet’s HB 162. This amendment adds our language dealing with real estate licensees owning LLCs.
As I said, busy and productive.
In addition to legislative meetings, it was another great week for REALTOR® advocacy at the Capitol. On Tuesday, members of the Newton-McDonald Board of REALTORS®, Tri-Lakes Board of REALTORS® and St. Charles REALTORS® met at the state’s Capitol to speak with legislators on matters affecting the real estate industry. In addition to speaking in support of MONA (Missouri Non-Discrimination Act) with Representative and bill sponsor Tom Hannegan, Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft caught up with members in the hallway to discuss real estate issues in southwest Missouri. On Wednesday, members of the Mineral Area Board of REALTORS®, Southeast Missouri REALTORS® and South Central Board of REALTORS® met to discuss REALTOR® Party supported legislation with elected officials.
This coming week, March 9-10, members of the following Local Boards/Associations will be in attendance for REALTOR® Days.
- Bagnell Dam Association of REALTORS®
- Greater Springfield Board of REALTORS®
- West Central Association of REALTORS®
- Central Missouri Board of REALTORS®
- Kansas City Regional Association of REALTORS®
As always, questions related to REALTOR® Days can be directed to Erin Hervey, Vice President of REALTOR® Party and Local Board Relations, at erin@morealtor.com.
Sincerely,
Sam Licklider
Chief Lobbyist, Missouri REALTORS®